Last weekend in the Winter Stableford Alan Copland (11) 39 points came in with the best score followed by Andy MacFarlane (15) 38, Tommy Stewart (16) 37 and John MacLachlan (9) 36 points

The time has come to renew subscriptions to Girvan Golf Club and Bernie Mills the Subscription Secretary will be in the Clubhouse on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th February between 11.30 and 12noon, also the following Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd February between 11.30 and 12noon to collect subscriptions.

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK

Frances Ouimet who you may remember won the US Open in 1913 was the son of a green keeper and a caddie himself at one time, stated “On top of my interest in the game itself, I took a tremendous interest in the clubs and balls, particularly the latter. I had seen many changes in the golf ball, and I believe the great development in the game of golf is directly attributable to the wonderful strides made by the manufacturers in perfecting the ball and making it a more pleasant game to play”.

Well the advancement in the golf ball have been such that it has been responsible for the vast changes to golf courses on which major competitions are played.

I think that it is now time that the golf ball should be controlled as to the distance it can be hit so that the game can be returned to the skill, rather than the brute strength of the golfer hitting it.

John Gilmour Speed writing in ’The Ladies Journal’ in1894 ‘In reality, there was never a more fascinating, nor a more healthful game invented than golf.’ What more can one add to a comment like that.

TALES FROM THE CADDYSHACK

They say that golf is in the decline and I agree that there are problems with this wonderful sport.

Some of it may be attributed to the time required to play a round of golf particularly when one adds to that the time taken in the clubhouse afterwards socializing which is a very important part of the game. What is the answer, reverting to a round comprising twelve holes which for a long time was the number played at the Open, or perhaps reducing the cost not only of playing the game but also the cost of the equipment required to play.

The trouble with the cost of a round of golf is the cost of maintaining the large area required for eighteen good golf holes and the equipment necessary to do so.. This must come from somewhere and naturally the golfer pays. But to balance this one must take into account the Government and health authorities constant warnings for us to take more healthy outdoor exercise and what better than a round of golf in fresh air covering a walk of around six or seven miles depending on how straight your ball flies. Give it some thought before more golf courses close down such as the Castle Park in Gifford, Lothianburn and Torphon Hill clubs in Edinburgh and Whitemoss Golf Club in Perth.

I have always extolled the art of putting, a skill which has eluded me for many a round of golf as my opponents last Thursday will confirm. Putting is a very individual talent as proved by Bobby Locke who took his putter back very much on the inside whilst making ball contact with a closed face. It meant that Bobby could literally put spin on his putts to make the ball hook at will.

It may sound daft but it proved very successful, as with a putter in his hands Bobby performed one of the most amazing feats in golfing history by playing 1,800 holes of golf without a single three putt. That means one hundred rounds of competition golf without once three putting.

Just think about it, but before you doubt its veracity, the records prove it. Bobby Locke’s prowess with a putter brought him a lot of trophies and in 1977 he was inducted into golf’s Hall of Fame. Yes you may have guessed it Bobby Locke was the golfer who coined the apt phrase ‘You drive for show and putt for dough’ and he certainly proved it. But before leaving Bobby Locke, he also hooked all his shots, particularly his drives which were quite astounding in the way they would disappear over the trees on the right of the fairway before coming back to land in the middle of the fairway. Not a shot I would recommend to the up and coming golfer.

I eagerly travelled up to Somerset Park last Saturday to see Ayr United’s new boys perform, only to be advised when I arrived there that the game was postponed due to a frozen pitch.

I listened to BBC Scotland on the radio all the way up and no mention was made of the postponement. I understand that some supporters travelled up from Yorkshire for the match and did not know of the postponement until they arrived. Unfortunately this will most probably mean a midweek fixture which may not suit many supporters.